GOVERNMENT OF MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 595

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 06TH FEBRUARY, 2018/ MEGHA 17, 1939 (SAKA)

BHOJPURI LANGUAGE

595. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that Bhojpuri is becoming the fastest growing Indian language;

(b) if so, the details thereof including the number of Bhojpuri speakers in the country;

(c) the measures taken by the Government to promote Bhojpuri and protect the in the country;

(d) whether the Government is considering the demand to include Bhojpuri in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and to give it classical status; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and the time by which the said language is likely to be included in the Eighth Schedule?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR) (a) & (b): Bhojpuri is one of the mother tongues under language. Number of speakers of Bhojpuri over the years are given below:-

Census Year No. of speakers 1961 7964755 1971 14340690 1981 15888906 1991 23102050 2001 33099497

(c): Bhojpuri is considered a major variety of Hindi. There is no specific effort to protect the Bhojpuri language however, when works are undertaken for Hindi in academic tasks, Bhojpuri is given due recognition. Further, Kendriya Hindi

Sansthan, an Autonomous Body under Ministry of Human Resource Development is developing trilingual dictionary of 48 varieties (dialects) of Hindi. They have published Bhojpuri-Hindi-English dictionary.

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(d) & (e): At present there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages including Bhojpuri in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are:

(1) , (2) Banjara, (3) Bazika, (4) Bhojpuri, (5) Bhoti, (6) Bhotia, (7)

Bundelkhandi, (8) Chhattisgarhi, (9) Dhatki, (10) English, (11) Garhwali (Pahari),

(12) Gondi, (13) Gujjar/Gujjari (14) Ho, (15) Kachachhi, (16) Kamtapuri, (17) Karbi,

(18) Khasi, (19) Kodava (Coorg), (20) Kok Barak, (21) Kumaoni (Pahari), (22)

Kurukh, (23) Kurmali, (24) Lepcha, (25) Limbu, (26) Mizo (Lushai), (27) Magahi,

(28) Mundari, (29) Nagpuri, (30) Nicobarese, (31) Pahari (Himachali), (32) Pali, (33)

Rajasthani, (34) Sambalpuri/Kosali, (35) Shaurseni (), (36) Siraiki, (37)

Tenyidi and (38) Tulu.

At present there is no established set of objective criteria for inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. As the evolution of dialects and languages is dynamic, influenced by socio-eco-political developments, it is difficult to fix any criterion for languages, whether to distinguish them from dialects, or for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the . Thus, both attempts, through the Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003)

Committees to evolve such fixed criteria have not borne fruit.

In view of above, no time-frame can be fixed for consideration of the demands for inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

No proposal for giving classical status to Bhojpuri Language has been received by the Akademi Division of the Ministry of Culture.

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